Cited by 342Child Abuse and TraumaStress Responses and CortisolPosttraumatic Stress Disorder Research

Sensitive periods of amygdala development: the role of maltreatment in preadolescence

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Pechtel, Pia, Lyons-Ruth, Karlen, Anderson, Carl M., Teicher, Martin H.·2014·NeuroImage

Abstract

The amygdala is vulnerable to stress-dependent disruptions in neural development. Animal models have shown that stress increases dendritic arborization leading to larger amygdala volumes. Human studies of early stress and amygdala volume, however, remain inconclusive. This study compared amygdala volume in adults with childhood maltreatment to that in healthy controls. Eighteen participants from a longitudinal cohort and 33 cross-sectional controls (17 M/34 F, 25.5±3.1 years) completed a structural magnetic resonance imagining scan and the Maltreatment and Abuse Chronology of Exposure scale. Random forest regression with conditional trees was used to assess relative importance of exposure to adversity at each age on amygdala, thalamic or caudate volume. Severity of exposure to adversity across age accounted for 27% of the variance in right amygdala volume. Peak sensitivity occurred at 10-11 years of age, and importance of exposure at this time was highly significant based on permutation tests (p=0.003). The regression model showed that exposure during this sensitive period resulted in steep dose-response function with maximal response to even modest levels of exposure. Subjects in the highest exposure quartile (MACE-11, range=11-54) had a 9.1% greater right amygdala volume than subjects in the lowest exposure quartile (MACE-11, ≤3.5). No associations emerged between age of exposure and volume of the left amygdala or bilateral caudate or thalamus. Severity of adversity experienced at age 10-11 contributed to larger right but not left amygdala volume in adulthood. Results provide preliminary evidence that the amygdala may have a developmental sensitive period in preadolescence.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.04.025

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  • In a previous report, longitudinal participants reported more severe childhood maltreatment and lower maternal care than controls.

    “Interviewed in adulthood, the longitudinal participants reported more severe exposure to maltreatment in childhood than controls and reported lower levels of maternal care on the Parental Bonding Instrument than controls (p = .002).”
  • In a previous report, severity of childhood maltreatment was significantly related to right hemisphere volumes but not left volumes, with maltreatment at 10-11 years the most important predictor of right amygdala volume.

    “Severity of childhood maltreatment was significantly related to right hemisphere volumes but not to left volumes, with severity of maltreatment at 10–11 years of age the most important predictor of right amygdala volume.”
  • In a previous report, both left and right amygdala volumes were larger among longitudinal participants than controls, with adjusted volume 3.8% greater in the longitudinal group.

    “Both left and right amygdala volumes were larger among longitudinal participants than controls, with least square mean adjusted amygdala volume 3.8% greater among the longitudinal group.”
  • Right amygdala structural alterations in adulthood are particularly linked to childhood maltreatment exposure.

    “Thus, right amygdala may be differentially responsive to negative or threatening stimuli (107–109), and alterations in structure (38, 109, 110) of the right amygdala in adulthood have been particularly related to exposure to childhood maltreatment.”
  • In the same participants, right amygdala enlargement was related to maltreatment severity in middle childhood, peaking between ages 10 and 11.

    “Also notably, compared to cross-sectional controls, the same participants studied here exhibited right amygdala enlargement in relation to the severity of maltreatment in middle childhood, with peak effect from maltreatment between 10 and 11 years of age (38), but show left amygdala enlargement here in relation to quality of early care.”

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. [29]Schmahl CG Vermetten E Elzinga BM Bremner JD 2003 Magnetic resonance imaging of hippocampal and amygdala volume in women with childhood abuse and borderline personality disorder Psychiatry Research-Neuroimaging 122 193 198 12694893
  2. [41]First MB Spitzer RL Gibbon M Williams JBW 2002 Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR Axis I Disorders, Research Version, Patient Edition (SCID-I/P) New York Biometrics Research, New York State Psychiatric Institute

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Authors
Pechtel, P., Lyons-Ruth, K., Anderson, C. M., & Teicher, M. H.
Affiliations
Harvard University (US)
Corresponding author
Pechtel, Pia
Venue
NeuroImage
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2014-08
Volume
97
Pages
236-244
ISSN
1053-8119 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2079348783
Cited by
342
References
78
Citations by year
2026: 14 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 43 · 2022: 31 · 2021: 31 · 2020: 35 · 2019: 26 · 2018: 41 · 2017: 26 · 2016: 31 · 2015: 20 · 2014: 4
FWCI
31.87
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • NeuroImage (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • NIH (UL1 RR 025758)
  • Frederick Leonhardt Foundation
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
Keywords
amygdala development, child abuse, sensitive period, late childhood, amygdala volume, adversity exposure, dose-response relationship, thalamus, caudate nucleus, brain structure
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Age Factors, Amygdala, Caudate Nucleus, Child, Child Abuse, Child, Preschool, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Hippocampus, Humans, Infant, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Sex Factors, Stress, Psychological, Thalamus, Cohort Studies

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